Employee Engagement lessons from the EU Referendum

17th June 20163:42 pm17th June 20163:42 pm

It is perhaps undeniable that the EU referendum appears to have captured the minds and conversations of the general public in a way that everyday Westminster, Council, and indeed European elections have simply failed to do for many years.

An anecdotal example from Steve Herbert, Head of Benefits Strategy: I was recently travelling with a group which included males and females, and a wide range of ages (from teenager to pensioner). Without any noticeable orchestration the conversation gravitated to the EU referendum, and it was striking that everyone had a view which they were willing to voice and debate. Away from this group I have also spoken to others who usually offer no political opinion, yet are intending to turn out and vote on 23 June.

The bottom line is that the forthcoming referendum (and indeed the recent Scottish devolution vote too) have engaged the electorate in a way rarely seen in the UK.

Now engagement is important. At a national level it is important that voters are engaged with the democratic process. At a more granular level employers need worker engagement to improve the UK’s (frankly poor) productivity figures.

So what lessons can employers – and HR professionals in particular – take from the apparent improvement in national engagement, and how can this be applied at a corporate level?

The following are all key factors for consideration:

Relevance: Ask questions that are genuinely relevant and important to your audience, and where they are likely to want their voices to be heard.

Visibility: Publish the results in full (and without spin) so that everyone can see the views of the wider workforce.

Action: Ensure that any clear findings from the research are acted upon (and make sure that these actions are made known to your audience).

To a lesser or greater extent both the EU and Scottish referendums reflect the above approach, and this may well be a key factor in the much greater traction with the electorate. It therefore follows that employers who wish to tackle the big and complex subjects of employee engagement and productivity would be well advised to embrace a similar approach.

For the full original article and other similar posts, please visit the Jelf Group blog.